Widely regarded as the quintessential American sportscar, the Corvette was launched way back in 1953 and remains in production to this day. The fourth generation Corvette hit the streets in March 1983 and with the exception of the 5.7 litre engine was a complete revision. While the performance of the earlier Corvettes was never in doubt, criticisms were levelled at the handling and much of the design work on the new car centred around the chassis and suspension. A composite transverse front spring was introduced which is still found in the latest Corvettes today. This made a significant improvement to roadholding , however it did so at the expense of ride comfort – something that the home market buyers would soon pick up on.

1993 models were fitted with either a 4-speed auto with overdrive or a 6-speed manual ZF gearbox, 5.7-litre V8 and a switchable ASR (Acceleration Slip Control) system which applied the brakes, retarded the ignition and closed the throttle as required to stop ‘excessive’ wheel spin!

Dating from March 1995, this particular car is a limited edition Indy Pace Car Corvette of which only 527 were built. It has covered only 16,300 miles from new and is in excellent original condition throughout. A matching numbers car, it is powered by a 5.7-litre SF1 V8 producing in excess of 300bhp mated to a 4-speed with overdrive auto ‘box.

It comes with the original bill of sale from Chevrolet Motor Division in March 1995 when it cost $49,750 with the following equipment: Indy Pace Car pack; electronic air conditioning; Bose sound system with cassette, radio and CD player; electric sports bucket seats in two-tone leather; performance axle ratio; purple and white paint; keyless entry system. A copy of an Arkansas registration document is also present.

The car was imported to the UK by its American owner in April this year with all duties paid, but it has not yet been UK registered. A rare and interesting convertible Corvette that cannot fail to get you noticed on the high street!